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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Implantation of Engineered Tissue in the Rat Heart

Implantation of Engineered Tissue in the Rat Heart

Published on: June 24, 2009

Tissue removal inside the beating heart using a robotically delivered metal MEMS tool.

Nikolay V Vasilyev¹, Andrew H Gosline¹, Arun Veeramani²

¹Cardiovascular Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA.

The International Journal of Robotics Research

|June 22, 2026

Summary

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A new robotic surgical tool can remove tissue from a beating heart. This innovative device, made with micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), is integrated with a steerable robot for minimally invasive procedures.

Area of Science:

Medical Robotics
Minimally Invasive Surgery
Biomedical Engineering

Background:

Surgical interventions within the beating heart present significant challenges.
Existing tools may lack the precision and maneuverability required for complex intracardiac procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce a novel robotic tool for the surgical removal of tissue from inside a beating heart.
To demonstrate the feasibility of a minimally invasive approach for intracardiac tissue resection.

Main Methods:

Development of a robotic tool using a metal micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) process.
Integration of the tool with a steerable curved concentric tube robot for percutaneous insertion.
System incorporates irrigation and aspiration for tissue morcelization and removal.

Keywords:

MEMS process Robotic tool heart surgery tissue removal

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Cell-based Therapy for Heart Failure in Rat: Double Thoracotomy for Myocardial Infarction and Epicardial Implantation of Cells and Biomatrix

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Implantation of Engineered Tissue in the Rat Heart

Implantation of Engineered Tissue in the Rat Heart

Published on: June 24, 2009

Fabrication of Biologically Derived Injectable Materials for Myocardial Tissue Engineering

Fabrication of Biologically Derived Injectable Materials for Myocardial Tissue Engineering

Published on: December 20, 2010

Cell-based Therapy for Heart Failure in Rat: Double Thoracotomy for Myocardial Infarction and Epicardial Implantation of Cells and Biomatrix

Cell-based Therapy for Heart Failure in Rat: Double Thoracotomy for Myocardial Infarction and Epicardial Implantation of Cells and Biomatrix

Published on: September 22, 2014

Teleoperated control for precise manipulation.

Main Results:

Successful fabrication of a millimeter-scale tool with micron-scale features.
Demonstration of tissue morcelization and extraction capabilities.
Ex vivo and in vivo large animal experimental results validating the system's performance.

Conclusions:

The novel robotic tool and integrated system offer a promising solution for intracardiac tissue removal.
The MEMS-based fabrication and robotic integration enable precise and effective surgical interventions in the beating heart.
Further development could advance minimally invasive cardiac surgery techniques.